Theresa May criticises Obama administration's Israeli stance

Prime Minister Theresa May has distanced herself from US President Barack Obama's stance on Israel and condemned the attack by his secretary of state on the Israeli government.

Downing Street said it was "not appropriate" for John Kerry to brand Benjamin Netanyahu's administration as the "most right wing in history", which saw him accused of bias by the Israeli prime minister.

Kerry made the claim while accusing Netanyahu's government of undermining attempts at a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians by building settlements in the West Bank.

The US president-elect has said the United Nations is failing to live up to its potential, heaping further criticism on the body in the wake of a UN vote on the legality of Israeli settlements.

Donald Trump's comments follow Secretary of State John Kerry's speech defending the US decision to abstain from that vote.

"There is such tremendous potential, but [the UN] is not living up [to it]. When do you see the United Nations solving problems? They don't. They cause problems," Mr Trump said.

Trump offered little comment on Kerry's speech, telling reporters that it "spoke for itself", but he has assured Israel that it merely needs to "hang on" until his administration takes over from that of Barack Obama.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he is ready to resume talks Credit: Reuters

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is ready to resume peace talks with Israel - if the country halts settlement construction.

On Wednesday, Abbas said he would be prepared to resume talks "within a specific time frame and on the basis of international law."

His comments came after a speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry, outlining America's rationale behind a decision not to veto a UN resolution demanding further Israeli settlement building be halted.

The speech was earlier described by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as a "great disappointment".

Hopes for peace in Israel are "slipping away", according to John Kerry.

The US Secretary of State said the idea of a one-state solution in the region was not viable, and affirmed the US's commitment to a two-state answer.

"We cannot, in good conscience, do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping away," Kerry said.

He added: "The truth is that trends on the ground - violence, terrorism, incitement, settlement expansion and the seemingly endless occupation - are destroying hopes for peace on both sides and increasingly cementing an irreversible one-state reality that most people do not actually want."

The US did not veto a UN resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building because it was in accordance with American "values".

Secretary of State John Kerry said the US had done "more than any other country" to support Israel, but that it could not "stand idly" by as the region becomes more unstable.

"If we were to stand idly by, and know that in doing so we were allowing a dangerous dynamic to take hold - which promises greater conflict and instability - to a region in which we have vital interests, we would be derelict in our own responsibilities," Kerry said.

He added: "Friends need to tell each other the hard truths."

"The US did in fact vote in accordance with our values - just as previous administrations have done at the Security Council before us," he said.